


In the Line of Duty

by TheoBurr



Category: Rookie Blue
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 22:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13797747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheoBurr/pseuds/TheoBurr
Summary: Takes place after 5x3. Short. Gail gets stabbed. Holly rushes to her side.





	In the Line of Duty

It felt like all the air had been forced from Gail’s lungs as she doubled over in the parking garage of the mall that she had chased the two thieves into. She had caught up with them first and they had ambushed her as she ran past a car and they both hit her in the stomach. Then, as she struggled to get to her feet, she watched as the two teens sprinted down the ramp and around the corner without looking back. That was when she felt the bottom of her vest rub against something and looked down to see the handle of a knife sticking out from between her vest and duty belt on one side.

The pain hadn’t hit her yet so she just stared at the handle and almost touched it before remembering that it could only make things worse if she tried to remove it. She let herself collapse back down onto the ground and laid down. As she heard the sounds of someone headed in her direction she reached down and touched the spot on her side where she’d also been hit. Her shirt was wet. She didn’t even want to hold her hand up to see it covered in the blood she knew she’d just touched. Knowing she also needed to slow the bleeding she tried to put as much pressure as she could on the area without passing out from the pain that was now registering with her brain.

“Peck!” Price’s voice was still about two cars over and Gail couldn’t find her own to call out.

“Chloe,” said Gail as loudly as she could. Every time she breathed her vest pushed against the knife. Remembering her radio, she reached up with her free hand and held the button down while calling out to her partner again. “Price.”

Chloe almost ran passed her but immediately stopped when she spotted her and rushed over to her. She drew her weapon and looked around the parking garage before making the ‘officer down’ call.

“They ran around the corner,” said Gail as she used her free hand to point down the ramp.

“Hey, don’t worry about that okay,” said Chloe as she holstered her gun and knelt down to start taking stock of Gail’s wounds. The worry and panic on Chloe’s face were starting to make Gail feel bad.

“Can you try to look a little happier, Price? You’re really bumming me out right now,” muttered Gail through gritted teeth. “I mean, barely anyone dies from being stabbed.”

“Gail please stop talking,” said Chloe as she worked on pulling Gail’s vest off and took over applying pressure to the open wound on her side.

As Chloe pressed down on the open wound, Gail groaned and cried out before throwing her head back down on the concrete.

“Hey, did you know being stabbed hurts?” asked Gail as she thought back to that time in the locked room with Chris. She needed to buy him a video game or something. If she lived.

Chloe let out a very strangled laugh like she was about to start crying.

“Probably about as much as getting shot does,” said Chloe with a forced smile as tears started rolling down her cheeks while she stared down at Gail’s wounds.

“Price. Stop crying,” said Gail as she realized that tears were running down her own face.

A police car pulled up and Nick practically smashed the door into another car as he rushed out of the vehicle and over to Gail. Nick’s rookie grabbed the med kit out of the trunk and between Nick and Chloe they worked on keeping Gail awake for the extra couple of minutes it was going to take the ambulance to get there.

“I don’t want to die,” whispered Gail to nothing as she closed her eyes. Thoughts of Holly floated to the front of her mind and she started to worry that maybe this is what it was like to have your life flash before your eyes. Because Holly was Gail’s life. There was nothing else worth remembering from Gail’s life. Nothing that mattered even a fraction as much as Holly.

“You’re not going to die,” said Nick.

Ignoring him, Gail struggled to pull her phone out. Chloe finally realized what she was going for and helped her pull it out. The blood on her hands made it hard to get the screen unlocked but the phone was finally ringing as she held the device up to her ear. It went to voicemail.

“Hey, nerd.” Gail tried to sound as casual as possible. As if Nick wasn’t currently holding her side together or that a knife wasn’t sticking out of her stomach. “You’re either in a basement with shitty service or just not answering. I probably wouldn’t answer for me either if I were you.”

Nick’s grip twitched on the bandages and sharp pain caused Gail to try and swallow down a scream though it still came out as a muffled cry. It made the act a lot harder to hold together and Gail realized that there really was no point to it.

“I’m so sorry Holly. I’m so, so sorry,” said Gail as tears poured down her cheeks. She was so tired. All she wanted to do was go to sleep. “I shouldn’t have walked out. I’m so sorry. I miss you so much.”

“EMTs are here, Gail,” said Chloe as if she was miles away. “You have to hang up.”

“I’m so sorry, Holly,” said Gail as the phone slipped from her hand.

* * *

 

Oliver stood in the hallway outside of the lab and watched Holly look over a bunch of photos that were pinned up on whiteboards. He knocked twice before pushing open one of the doors and heading into the quiet lab. When Holly turned around and registered him she smiled and it broke his heart that he was there for anything other than to say hello.

“Oliver,” said Holly. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Oliver shook his head as tears stung the corners of his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” asked Holly. She tilted her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Gail’s been stabbed,” said Oliver.

Watching the doctor, who was normally all smiles, slowly lose herself hurt in a way he wasn’t expecting. The look of absolute terror on Holly’s face and the way her chin shook as tears rolled down her cheeks broke Oliver. He wasn’t sure if he should approach her or give her space and it hurt more that he hadn’t gotten to know her well enough yet to know for sure.

“She’s in surgery,” said Oliver. “I came to get you. If you want to go.”

“Would she…,” started Holly before choking. “I don’t think she’d want me there.”

“Darling, you’re the only person she wants to see when she wakes up.”

Holly looked Oliver over for a moment before pulling off her lab coat and tossing it on the desk and grabbing her jacket. She shoved a few things into a bag on the desk before slinging it over her shoulder and moving to stand in front of Oliver with a determined look on her tear-streaked face.

“Let’s go.”

Oliver offered a small smile while patting her arm before turning and heading out of the room with Holly in tow.

* * *

 

Gail slowly opened her eyes trying to blink the crust out of the corners with no success. Everything was blurry and when she lifted her arm to try to wipe the crap out of her eyes loud angry beeping started going off around her as she felt the IV in the crook of her elbow. Quickly straightening out the arm with the IV she used her other hand to wipe her eyes. She heard a rush of movement around her before the beeping stopped and a soft touch was pulling her hand away.

“Hey, it’s okay,” said an achingly familiar voice. “Hold on.”

Gail tried to open her eyes again but it was all dark and fuzzy so she shut them. A moment later and her head was being gently tilted upwards as a warm cloth was run across her face.

“Everything alright in here?” asked a voice Gail didn’t recognize.

“Yeah. She woke up and pinched the IV,” said the voice Gail knew was Holly’s.

Everything was still so foggy. Gail remembered being hit by those kids. Then falling. Pain. Blood. So much blood. Her blood. All over her hands. All over Chloe’s hands. And Nick’s. Gail reached up and held the hand with the cloth still as she blinked her eyes open and looked around. Yup. She was in a hospital room, in a bed. Holly and a nurse stood on either side of her bed, both of them looking her over.

“How long…?” It was all Gail could get out before coughing. Her throat was so dry.

“It’s a little past midnight right now,” said the nurse. “You’ve been out all day. How are you feeling right now?”

“Like I’ve been stabbed,” groaned Gail as she tried to lean to one side. Holly reached out a hand but stopped just short of actually touching Gail’s shoulder.

“Well, it’s good to see everyone was right about you being a handful when you wake up,” said the nurse with a smile to Holly who ever so slightly smirked. “Are you feeling a lot of pain right now?”

“Yes,” said Gail. It felt like she’d just been punched repeatedly in the gut. “God, yes.”

“Alright.” The nurse fiddled with something before hitting a button. “If you need anything else just let me know. I’m only a button away.”

When the nurse dimmed the lights and left the room, closing the door behind her, Gail looked over at Holly who was just watching her.

“Did you need anything?” asked Holly as soon as she noticed Gail’s attention.

“Water?”

Holly nodded and poured a glass from the pitcher on the bedside table. She held the glass up to Gail’s lips and helped her slowly drink from it. Gail rested her free hand on the back of the hand holding the glass and closed her eyes as she sipped at the water. When Holly pulled the glass away, Gail missed the contact with Holly’s skin more than she missed the water.

“Just a little at a time, okay?”

Gail nodded.

If anyone else had been in her room she pretty much had preplanned sarcastic remarks about them being a bunch of wusses for caring so much about her. Not Holly. All she could do was look at Holly.

“Did you get my voicemail?” asked Gail quietly as Holly just stood next to the bed watching her.

Holly shook her head and Gail could see the tears threatening to fall.

“Not until I was already here,” said Holly. “Oliver came and got me.”

“Holly, I’m…”

Holly shook her head again and held up a hand.

“Gail, let’s not worry about it right now okay? I’m just glad you’re...it’s just good to see you.”

Gail tried to reach out her hand but could only get so far, she was so tired. Holly caught it and held it with both hands. Her touch was so gentle. As if she was trying not to break Gail.

“Sit,” said Gail as she tried to wiggle over in the bed. It hurt but she wanted Holly near her. Holly smiled.

“Gail, there’s a chair right…”

“Sit,” said Gail again more forcefully as she pulled her hand away and patted the small space she’d made next to her.

“The nurses are going to hate me,” said Holly without moving but still smiling. “I already had to call in a favor to stay here overnight.”

“I was stabbed, Holly,” said Gail matter-of-factly. “That means I get all the ice cream I want and I can say who gets to sit on my bed.”

The way Holly smiled always made Gail feel better. Even though the tears in Holly’s eyes broke Gail’s heart, seeing that beautiful crooked smile directed at her again seemed to put it right back together. Holly sat down on the edge of the bed, facing Gail, and pulled one of her legs up with her while the other dangled off the bed. When she rested a hand on the bed beside her, Gail reached out and took it with her own. Holly sighed.

“You know, I’m pretty sure that the ice cream thing is for tonsils,” said Holly.

“Nah. Definitely stab wounds,” said Gail with a small shake of her head. The painkillers were slowly kicking in and Gail was starting to feel better. The pain in her stomach was now more of a dull annoyance. “What does a kid without tonsils need ice cream for? They’re fine. They signed up to get cut.”

Holly laughed and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of the Blue Jays sweatshirt she was wearing.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You love me,” said Gail as she rested her head back and closed her eyes.

“I do.”

Gail’s eyes snapped back open as she met Holly’s gaze. Holly smiled and shrugged.

“I know you’re just being a smartass but I do love you, Gail.”

Gail didn’t know what to say. Well, she did but she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to say it. Not after what happened. Not after how she left.

“I wanted to tell you,” said Holly as she pushed her glasses up onto her head to wipe her eyes again. “But I was scared.”

“Of what?” Gail’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Sending you running,” laughed Holly. “Turns out all it took for that was Lisa’s big mouth.”

Swallowing hard on the words she wanted to say, Gail just continued to watch Holly.

“Lisa’s my friend. But that doesn’t mean I agree with her about everything. Let alone you,” said Holly as she focused on holding Gail’s hand with both of hers. “She’s all about status. I wouldn’t care if you were a meter maid. I mean, those shorts are pretty cute.”

Gail smiled for a second.

“Actually,” said Holly with a laugh as her eyes watered again. “I’d probably prefer if you were a meter maid.”

“I don’t know, Hols. I think I’d rather be stabbed again than deal with the stuff people say to them,” said Gail. Holly laughed and shook her head while tears rolled down her cheeks.

Gail used all the strength she could muster to reach up and touch Holly’s cheek. She wiped away the tears as Holly leaned into her touch and rested a hand on hers. As Holly closed her eyes, Gail ghosted her thumb across her lips. When Holly opened her eyes again to look at her Gail smiled and let her hand fall to Holly’s sweatshirt before pulling her forward. When their lips met Gail sighed heavily and it took her a moment to realize that the tears on her cheeks were her own. She had missed Holly so much.

“I love you too,” whispered Gail against Holly’s lips.

Their eyes met for a moment before Holly leaned in again, kissing Gail deeper than the first time. As Gail tangled her free hand in Holly’s hair a sharp cough caused both of them to jump and Holly practically tripped as she jumped out of the bed.

The nurse who had looked Gail over earlier was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. She was smiling with an eyebrow raised. As both women sheepishly looked at her, the nurse pointed at the heart rate monitor.

“We can see that at the desk,” said the nurse. Then she looked at Holly and her smirk widened. “You should know better, doctor.”

When the nurse left while shaking her head and laughing, Holly looked over at Gail and shrugged.

“I don’t really have to worry about heart rates with my patients.”

Gail snorted then groaned in pain while laughing.


End file.
